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Welcome Licorice Pizza (LP) lovers! Setup guides and Vinyl FAQ.

RE: more stereo vs. mono

John makes the real point here - the only valid comparison between a mono cartridge and stereo cartridge is if the generator assemblies are identical, obviously only one in the mono cartridge and two at 45degrees in the stereo. I think Lyra do this and use a .0007 mil stylus in both.

The stylus is the most important aspect. No matter how good the generator is, be it moving coil or magnet, it won't generate an accurate signal if the groove hasn't been traced properly. How do I know? I've got 11 Shure M44 cartridges each with a different stylus size, for playing mono and stereo Lps, 7" 45s and 78s. That's apples and apples.

My Denon DL-102 and Goldring 600 mono cartridges spend most of the time in a drawer as I prefer to have a consistent benchmark, albeit lower in quality than some of you would consider. OK there's a Shure V15III/SAS which I use for most Lps in good condition as the M44 isn't the best cartridge for modern stereo records.

I like the Shure sound, I grew up with it. But my approach is valid with any cartridge range - Stanton 500/681 series, Grado, I used ARCAM 77s in the same way, retips of Ortofon 2Ms or Goldring 10xx, Ortofon OMs.

So for each of your options I'd say have a selection of cartridges and styli and find the best match on a record by record basis. And a mono switch in your pre-amp.

If you can afford to trash some stereo Lps, try them with a good mono vintage cartridge with a .0007" stylus and be surprised how good the sound is.







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  • RE: more stereo vs. mono - richardz 10/22/1000:49:42 10/22/10 (0)

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